Good beers and breweries

[repoman]

Sitting back going through a case of 4 kinds of Bridgeport Brewing's beers, from Portland Oregon. Great stuff.

First was Long Ball Ale, second now is Cream Ale.

Not overly hopped where you get a bitter beer face.

 

[bilby]

I'm not a fan of the recent trend toward massively over hopped American IPAs.

I like a hoppy beer, but not to the exclusion of all other character. Hopefully the fashion will swing back the other way soon.

There are lots of other, very different, styles that are well worth drinking - everything from a clear, crisp Pilsner, to a deep and full-bodied stout (Guinness is not he only, nor the best, stout. Try Murphy's if you can get it). British real ales offer a massive range of styles, flavour profiles and strengths. Theakstons and Black Sheep breweries (both in the tiny town of Masham on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales) make some excellent beers.

If you like hops, but not American IPA, then British IPA is quite different; the Kentish brewers make some very nice beers, Shepherd Neame is a name to look out for, they make a range of beers including Spitfire and Bishop's Finger, which benefit from the local hop growing industry.

These days I brew my own beer, so I can make whatever I like. Right now I have a Pilsner and a Kentish Ale on the way, and my next brew will either be an Amber Ale or a Mild; I am looking at recipes for both, and will likely end up doing one of each.

 

[repoman]

It makes me wonder if hops actually do have mental effects. highly hopped beers often have a lot of alcohol.

Right now took a few sips off another beer in the case, Hop Czar, it is so fucking intense like a medicine.

the first two were lightly hopped and very tasty.

 

[rousseau]

I'm not a fan of the recent trend toward massively over hopped American IPAs.

I like a hoppy beer, but not to the exclusion of all other character. Hopefully the fashion will swing back the other way soon.

There are lots of other, very different, styles that are well worth drinking - everything from a clear, crisp Pilsner, to a deep and full-bodied stout (Guinness is not he only, nor the best, stout. Try Murphy's if you can get it). British real ales offer a massive range of styles, flavour profiles and strengths. Theakstons and Black Sheep breweries (both in the tiny town of Masham on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales) make some excellent beers.

If you like hops, but not American IPA, then British IPA is quite different; the Kentish brewers make some very nice beers, Shepherd Neame is a name to look out for, they make a range of beers including Spitfire and Bishop's Finger, which benefit from the local hop growing industry.

These days I brew my own beer, so I can make whatever I like. Right now I have a Pilsner and a Kentish Ale on the way, and my next brew will either be an Amber Ale or a Mild; I am looking at recipes for both, and will likely end up doing one of each.

Totally. I don't get it. It's like a few years back a group of guys heard the word hops, thought it was cool, and the butterfly effect went from there.

I don't mind a hopped beer with a balanced hop profile, but go into any LCBO in Ontario and you'll find a huge variety of beers with names like 'hopsplosion', that people fawn over. They're just way too unbalanced.

Outside of that vein I've tried more Ontario crafts than most but these days, at least while it's hot, am pretty much just gravitating to generic lagers. Still dabbling in various styles but I guess I'm starting to get tired of cutesy flavours and thick bodies, and just want to sit down and gulp a drinkable, carbonated beverage, with a bit of alcohol.

When I do up my game I drink a lot of stouts (as dry as possible), porters, and trappists, but that's usually in cold weather. Around October you also get a few pumpkin ales out which I like, and in December I can drink a winter ale.

I could go on forever about the subject because there's so much beer out there, but in general I've found you have your good breweries and your bad breweries. Whatever style that good breweries make will be a good example of that style, if the brewery is shit the example of the style will be bad. The trick really is finding the breweries that put out good product.

 

[J842P]

I'm not a fan of the recent trend toward massively over hopped American IPAs.

I like a hoppy beer, but not to the exclusion of all other character. Hopefully the fashion will swing back the other way soon.

There are lots of other, very different, styles that are well worth drinking - everything from a clear, crisp Pilsner, to a deep and full-bodied stout (Guinness is not he only, nor the best, stout. Try Murphy's if you can get it). British real ales offer a massive range of styles, flavour profiles and strengths. Theakstons and Black Sheep breweries (both in the tiny town of Masham on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales) make some excellent beers.

If you like hops, but not American IPA, then British IPA is quite different; the Kentish brewers make some very nice beers, Shepherd Neame is a name to look out for, they make a range of beers including Spitfire and Bishop's Finger, which benefit from the local hop growing industry.

These days I brew my own beer, so I can make whatever I like. Right now I have a Pilsner and a Kentish Ale on the way, and my next brew will either be an Amber Ale or a Mild; I am looking at recipes for both, and will likely end up doing one of each.

I believe the trend is finally starting to die over here in The States. Well, at least more and more styles are starting to be experimented with. The current fad is Belgian styles. Personally, I've become more and more enamored with German styles, and indeed, they too are beginning to become more popular - perhaps there are lot of people from Pennsylvania rediscovering their roots. British beer, at least in Virginia, is not easy to find. It's pretty much impossible to find real ale, which I've always wanted to get my hands on. The one English brewery I do enjoy is Samuel Smith's. It's relatively easily available. I'd be curious as to how it is perceived over in England.

 

[bilby]

I'm not a fan of the recent trend toward massively over hopped American IPAs.

I like a hoppy beer, but not to the exclusion of all other character. Hopefully the fashion will swing back the other way soon.

There are lots of other, very different, styles that are well worth drinking - everything from a clear, crisp Pilsner, to a deep and full-bodied stout (Guinness is not he only, nor the best, stout. Try Murphy's if you can get it). British real ales offer a massive range of styles, flavour profiles and strengths. Theakstons and Black Sheep breweries (both in the tiny town of Masham on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales) make some excellent beers.

If you like hops, but not American IPA, then British IPA is quite different; the Kentish brewers make some very nice beers, Shepherd Neame is a name to look out for, they make a range of beers including Spitfire and Bishop's Finger, which benefit from the local hop growing industry.

These days I brew my own beer, so I can make whatever I like. Right now I have a Pilsner and a Kentish Ale on the way, and my next brew will either be an Amber Ale or a Mild; I am looking at recipes for both, and will likely end up doing one of each.

I believe the trend is finally starting to die over here in The States. Well, at least more and more styles are starting to be experimented with. The current fad is Belgian styles. Personally, I've become more and more enamored with German styles, and indeed, they too are beginning to become more popular - perhaps there are lot of people from Pennsylvania rediscovering their roots. British beer, at least in Virginia, is not easy to find. It's pretty much impossible to find real ale, which I've always wanted to get my hands on. The one English brewery I do enjoy is Samuel Smith's. It's relatively easily available. I'd be curious as to how it is perceived over in England.

Samuel Smiths takes me back - I used to drink a lot of their beer in my younger days, when they were one of the better local breweries.

At one time, they and Theakstons were the only breweries left in Yorkshire who still sold beer in wooden barrels, although I think that's now making a comeback.

I was involved in a historical reenactment event in Hull back in 1992, and the organizer wanted beer in a wooden barrel for the tavern; The brewery said they couldn't supply it as we were not a wholesale customer, but they gave us a list of local Samuel Smiths pubs that might be able to sell us one, so I took the corporate credit card and spent the afternoon drinking free beer with a succession of pub landlords, all of whom said "I haven't one I can spare, but I know a guy down the road who might...".

Best. Job. Ever.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I believe the trend is finally starting to die over here in The States. Well, at least more and more styles are starting to be experimented with. The current fad is Belgian styles. Personally, I've become more and more enamored with German styles, and indeed, they too are beginning to become more popular - perhaps there are lot of people from Pennsylvania rediscovering their roots. British beer, at least in Virginia, is not easy to find. It's pretty much impossible to find real ale, which I've always wanted to get my hands on. The one English brewery I do enjoy is Samuel Smith's. It's relatively easily available. I'd be curious as to how it is perceived over in England.

It's a lovely thought though I'm not seeing it. One smart move by my local grocer was to arrange beers by style as best could be done in lieu of the traditional set up by brand allowing me to focus on the ales, lagers, and the scant few pilsners, disregarding the pale ales, IPAs, and don't even get me started on the fruity crap and poorly executed fall and winter beers.
I seem to fall in and out of love quickly with most beers. Two I have established lasting friendships with are Bleeding Buckeye, a red ale from the Elevator Brewing Co. in Columbus and of course the exquisitely balanced Great Lakes Christmas Ale.

 

[rousseau]

I was gifted a set of Samuel Smith's for Christmas. Struck me as a bigger brewery putting out good but inoffensive beers. Looking at beer advocate, though, a couple of them I tried scored in the 90's so they must be doing something right.

 

[KeepTalking]

The overly hopped IPAs and APAs don't seem to be dying out in my neck of the woods either. Fortunately, there is plenty of variety available, pretty much everywhere you go. One of the best small breweries in St. Louis currently is Schlafly. They have their share of hopped up drafts, but they also make some excellent stouts, including a coffee stout that goes down well on a cold day. But, it's summer now, so it's ales that top the list for me currently. A microbrew opened up just a few blocks down the street from my house about 2-3 years ago, Main Street Brewing Company, and they make an excellent Strawberry Blonde Ale. They also do you the favor of posting the ABV, and conveniently the IBU, of all their beers on the menu, so it's easy to avoid the stuff that is just too damn hoppy. It also shows that there is no correlation between hops and alcohol content. The beer with the highest ABV on the menu, a Belgian Triple, also has one of the lowest IBU ratings.

In addition to the Strawberry Blonde, I like Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy in the summer. Some of the lemon shandy ales on the market go overboard with the lemon, but Leinie's does it just about right for my taste.

 

[rousseau]

One of the things I'm jealous of in the US is craft beer selection. I believe liquor laws in Canada are much more restrictive so it's hard to get new breweries off the ground. In the US not a problem so you get a huge variety of excellent beers. I went to Michigan and New York in the last year and drank some good shit.

 

[ronburgundy]

I'm not a fan of the recent trend toward massively over hopped American IPAs.

I like a hoppy beer, but not to the exclusion of all other character. Hopefully the fashion will swing back the other way soon.

There are lots of other, very different, styles that are well worth drinking - everything from a clear, crisp Pilsner, to a deep and full-bodied stout (Guinness is not he only, nor the best, stout. Try Murphy's if you can get it). British real ales offer a massive range of styles, flavour profiles and strengths. Theakstons and Black Sheep breweries (both in the tiny town of Masham on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales) make some excellent beers.

If you like hops, but not American IPA, then British IPA is quite different; the Kentish brewers make some very nice beers, Shepherd Neame is a name to look out for, they make a range of beers including Spitfire and Bishop's Finger, which benefit from the local hop growing industry.

These days I brew my own beer, so I can make whatever I like. Right now I have a Pilsner and a Kentish Ale on the way, and my next brew will either be an Amber Ale or a Mild; I am looking at recipes for both, and will likely end up doing one of each.

Craft beer has been my #1 hobby for 27 years. I enjoy almost all styles, and am very fond of highly hopped American IPAs and think the notion of "balance" is way over-rated, as is "clarity" and whether a beer is made "to style". Those are concepts for competition judges to worry about, not the person just seeking the hedonism of tasty beer. The "new" hop strains (some only "new" in terms of their widespread use) are glorious. Give me notes of citrus, melon, mango and tropical flavors over the earthy and flowery notes of English hops any day. It doesn't need to be 100 IBUs, so long as there is lots of late and dry hopping with aromatic strains and a simple malt bill to let those aromas shine. I generally don't care for crystal/caramel malts near my IPAs. There can be a notable malt flavor, but more in the vein of pale cracker/biscuit notes.

I do love a good pilsner, but I prefer them more when they are somewhat hazy than "clear". I've spend much time in Germany and consistently my favorite lagers are kellers and zwickels which are largely unfiltered. The corporate German beer that come to the US are far inferior to the more rustic and typically hazy lagers of the hundreds a tiny breweries that you can only taste be going to the villages they are brewed in.
Though, these hazy keller beers are best served in a stone krug, thus you cannot see them anyway. There is something about the the cool smooth stone against your lips out in a warm but shady beer garden that turns a good lager into magic. I am very happy that lagers, pilsners, and other lower abv styles are really starting to catch on among the new wave of microbreweries popping up. Granted, too many of them have brewers without real training or experience, but I still say there is far far more great beers to be drank right now in the US than there ever was or than there is in any other country. The fact that their is no strong appeal to tradition or styles tied into national pride is a great thing for the innovation of beer in America. The irony is that Germany developed some of the "newer" hops (like Hull Melon, Mandarina, and Hallertau Blanc) but almost no German brewers use these tasty strains because the beer culture is not close-minded and stuck in its ways (and thus sadly dying). In fact, it is much easier to find a well made Berliner Weiss or Gose in the US, than in Germany, where the few Berliner's you'll find come automatically with syrup.

 

[bilby]

I was gifted a set of Samuel Smith's for Christmas. Struck me as a bigger brewery putting out good but inoffensive beers. Looking at beer advocate, though, a couple of them I tried scored in the 90's so they must be doing something right.

When did 'inoffensive' become a bad thing?

As a non-masochist, I try to avoid offensive beers.

 

[J842P]

In fact, it is much easier to find a well made Berliner Weiss or Gose in the US, than in Germany, where the few Berliner's you'll find come automatically with syrup.

Yeah, and that's a damn shame, since the Berliner Weiss is a great style. Thankfully, their sour-cousin Gueuze is alive and well in Belgium.

I suspect that there will be a resurgence of these styles in Germany. They have always been quite proud of their beer, anyway.

Personally, though, I think one of the most perfect creations is the Bavarian helles lager, which you can find good imports in the US if you know where to look. Unfortunately, it is a style that does not export well.

 

[J842P]

I believe the trend is finally starting to die over here in The States. Well, at least more and more styles are starting to be experimented with. The current fad is Belgian styles. Personally, I've become more and more enamored with German styles, and indeed, they too are beginning to become more popular - perhaps there are lot of people from Pennsylvania rediscovering their roots. British beer, at least in Virginia, is not easy to find. It's pretty much impossible to find real ale, which I've always wanted to get my hands on. The one English brewery I do enjoy is Samuel Smith's. It's relatively easily available. I'd be curious as to how it is perceived over in England.

It's a lovely thought though I'm not seeing it. One smart move by my local grocer was to arrange beers by style as best could be done in lieu of the traditional set up by brand allowing me to focus on the ales, lagers, and the scant few pilsners, disregarding the pale ales, IPAs, and don't even get me started on the fruity crap and poorly executed fall and winter beers.
I seem to fall in and out of love quickly with most beers. Two I have established lasting friendships with are Bleeding Buckeye, a red ale from the Elevator Brewing Co. in Columbus and of course the exquisitely balanced Great Lakes Christmas Ale.

Well, as I said perhaps it's not so much dying out as it is starting to share the shelf space with other styles. It seems better to me than what was going on during the 2007 -2012 hops arm-race.

And don't get me wrong, I like hoppy, American-style IPAs. I think the West-Coast style is the best interpretation, but there are notable exceptions. I love Bell's Two-Hearted Ale. Indeed, it is my impression that some of the best breweries are in the Midwest. They brew good, honest beer out there. But you've got to hand it to the West Coast IPA.

 

[rousseau]

I was gifted a set of Samuel Smith's for Christmas. Struck me as a bigger brewery putting out good but inoffensive beers. Looking at beer advocate, though, a couple of them I tried scored in the 90's so they must be doing something right.

When did 'inoffensive' become a bad thing?

As a non-masochist, I try to avoid offensive beers.

I didn't mean it as a criticism. I like inoffensive beers, just don't find them as interesting as styles brewed for complexity. If you want to drink a few beers in a sitting inoffensive is what you want.

 

[rousseau]

A great example of an offensive beer is St. Ambroise Oatmeal. Very complex beer that most craft lovers like and casual drinkers hate. People only used to the bland flavour of a Budweiser or similar can't handle it. This is because generics are brewed so you don't hate them, not to challenge your taste buds.

 

[ronburgundy]

In fact, it is much easier to find a well made Berliner Weiss or Gose in the US, than in Germany, where the few Berliner's you'll find come automatically with syrup.

Yeah, and that's a damn shame, since the Berliner Weiss is a great style. Thankfully, their sour-cousin Gueuze is alive and well in Belgium.

I suspect that there will be a resurgence of these styles in Germany. They have always been quite proud of their beer, anyway.

Fortunately, the Berliner is tied to Berlin which has a more thriving and growing beer culture than the rest of Germany, due to it being less "German" of a city and more international and open to variation. As a result, there seem to be a couple very new breweries there trying to revive the style and teach Berliners that "syrup" is not neccessary. The double edged sword of German pride in their beer is that while they strive to use high quality ingredients and sound methods in what they brew, they are close-minded in what they are willing to brew and to drink. In fact, they tend to be closed even to German beer styles not brewed in their home town. Their pride is very regional. I met many people in Munich who were serious drinkers of Munich beers but never bothered to try the Rauch or other beers made just 2 hours north of them in Bamberg.
It doesn't help that the 4 major Munich breweries control distribution, the bottle shops, and the bars. In 8 months living there, I found 1 single shop in the whole city that sold any beers from outside of the Munich region, and almost all bars and restaurants only sell the beer from one of the big breweries.

Personally, though, I think one of the most perfect creations is the Bavarian helles lager, which you can find good imports in the US if you know where to look. Unfortunately, it is a style that does not export well.

I agree that Helles is much better when drank there and fresh. That said, the major corporate brands they do most of the exporting pale (pun intended) in comparison to the Helles lagers brewed by smaller breweries in the region, most of which do not use the extreme degree of filtering the big corporate 3 use, and use real hops rather than hop extract oils which I think all the big 3 know use. I prefer my Lagers to be a bit more rustic than the uber clean variants such as Spaten, Augustiner, Hofbrau. That said, some of the corporate breweries do occasionally sell less filtered variants of their Helles, often referred to as "Zwickel" or "Kellerbier" (the former is also drank young when fermentation completes).
Unfortunately, less filtered beer travels even less well.

 

[ronburgundy]

Since I have praised innovation and shunning of tradition, I will counter myself with a trend I dislike: beers with vanilla and/or cinnamon.

These are such intense flavors that they almost always overtake any beer they are in. I find almost all beers with either or both of them borderline undrinkable, even the one's that beer nerds line up for. These adjuncts are most often added to Imperial Stouts, especially when they are barrel aged. I have actually been to beer fests where almost every Imperial Stout have one or both of these in there. Proper barrel aging in oak already add a complex flavor with notes of vanilla, so when then add vanilla on top of it, it just covers up those complex smooth and subtle vanilla notes with abrasive and simplisitic in your face vanilla.

 

[J842P]

Since I have praised innovation and shunning of tradition, I will counter myself with a trend I dislike: beers with vanilla and/or cinnamon.

These are such intense flavors that they almost always overtake any beer they are in. I find almost all beers with either or both of them borderline undrinkable, even the one's that beer nerds line up for. These adjuncts are most often added to Imperial Stouts, especially when they are barrel aged. I have actually been to beer fests where almost every Imperial Stout have one or both of these in there. Proper barrel aging in oak already add a complex flavor with notes of vanilla, so when then add vanilla on top of it, it just covers up those complex smooth and subtle vanilla notes with abrasive and simplisitic in your face vanilla.

Egads! I agree, I hate vanilla in beers.

 

[KeepTalking]

Since I have praised innovation and shunning of tradition, I will counter myself with a trend I dislike: beers with vanilla and/or cinnamon.

These are such intense flavors that they almost always overtake any beer they are in. I find almost all beers with either or both of them borderline undrinkable, even the one's that beer nerds line up for. These adjuncts are most often added to Imperial Stouts, especially when they are barrel aged. I have actually been to beer fests where almost every Imperial Stout have one or both of these in there. Proper barrel aging in oak already add a complex flavor with notes of vanilla, so when then add vanilla on top of it, it just covers up those complex smooth and subtle vanilla notes with abrasive and simplisitic in your face vanilla.

Egads! I agree, I hate vanilla in beers.

I agree with the cinnamon, but not vanilla. Leinenkugel's Snowdrift Vanilla Porter is one of my favorite winter brews, but the vanilla is very understated.